


Sand planet

by FernShaw



Category: Cookie Run (Video Game)
Genre: Bounty Hunters, Caring, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Enemies to Lovers, F/F, Not Beta Read, Serious Injuries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-09
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-15 16:20:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29316999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FernShaw/pseuds/FernShaw
Summary: Rye misses Chili. She's driven mad by the fact that she can't forgive her, yet she needs her by her side. Hopefully one day things will get better
Relationships: Chili Pepper Cookie/Rye Cookie (Cookie Run)
Comments: 31
Kudos: 22





	1. Chapter 1

She hated herself more than anything right now. She could feel that harsh air of the brown sugar valley slowly getting colder with the night coming. She slammed her table and asked the waiter for another beer with a sigh before putting back her head between her arms.

She was enraged, for so many reasons yet all revolving around one person. That damn Chili pepper. She really was the source of everything wrong in her life, now was she ? Seriously, Rye felt so dumb. How didn't she notice that the paper had her face on it ? How could she be so dumb ? Why didn't she question Chili's presence next to the ginkgo's camp when she knew that girl came around specifically for stealing it ? And most importantly ...

Why did fighting by her side feel so good ?

That was a mistake, yet Rye couldn't help but think about it again and again. They made such a great team together. It felt so good. She wanted this to last more than just a few hours like it did ... That girl and her were too good of a duo. She still remembers how her heart felt when she heard her saying that she did bounty hunting too. She had so many hopes of getting a partner, maybe even developing a friendship ! Two bounty hunters together, bounding over a nice beer and a meal laughing like two idiots about whatever they did that day. It felt like the kind of life she always wanted. But ... Of course the universe loves making her look like a fool. 

Chili looked so upbeat when she saw that paper, so proud ! How dare she. How dare she felt so happy when all that Rye could think of at that moment was revenge. That girl ... She tricked her. She lied when she said that she had no idea of who Rye could be only to try to be friends with her. How dare she !! Chili was even worse than what she thought. And Rye thought that she wouldn't be lonely anymore... 

...

Yet her face haunted her thoughts. 

She didn't seem to be bothered telling her that she was indeed Chili pepper. She seemed to enjoy their time together too. And worst of all ... It looked like she was genuinely pained by Rye's reaction. Well of course Rye was going to react badly ! What else would she do ! That's the girl that stole her precious hard work, and she tried to make friends with her ?! And saying that she was indeed the girl that did it didn't even seem to be a problem for her ?! 

She still remember their last moments together. The bridge. Chili Pepper's scared eyes. The feeling of urge for a choice between her life or revenge. The bridge collasping. And Chili's last words for her. 

"I wish we'll never meet again"

Well of course she would say that. Rye almost killed her a few seconds ago. And she was a wanted criminal. It would've been weird if she said anything else. Yet ... Rye still had tears in her eyes when she thought about these words. Never again. These precious moments would never come ever again. It's the end. Nothing else. She will never get the chance to get along with Chili and these were only memories that she can't even cherish. But she needed revenge right ? That was the best thing to say ! She had to ! She could just ... Forgive her. She couldn't ... No ... 

"We really make a great team ! Maybe we could do that again ?"

"Yeah sure ! You weren't half bad too !"

... She failed. 

Rye could feels a few tears running down her cheeks with sobs and heavy breathing. Maybe she really ruined everything. Did vengeance had to lead her life ? Was ignoring her feelings towards that girl the only way to go ? It hurt too much to feel right. She wanted to talk to her again. She doesn't even know what she could say she just ... Wants her to smile again. These last moments together, with Chili being genuinely scared of her ... She felt like a monster. 

Rye sobbed like that in her corner for a little while before calming down enough to be able to get up and pay for her beers. She probably looked miserable but no one would say anything about it in fear of getting a bullet in their face. But she didn't just look horrible, she felt horrible. And she would've done anything to feel better. If she wasn't listening at least a little bit to her brain she probably would've hugged randomly someone in the streets. 

She walked alone for a while in the dark trying to go back to her hotel room. It was cold. Even her poncho wasn't enough to warm her up. She wished she had someone on her side even more now. She was about to punch herself to get her head out of this hellhole before arriving to her doorstep and noticing something. It was bags. And she didn't remember leaving anything behind her.

She whipped her tears and slowly opened them to see what was inside, and the golden colors coming out of the bags almost blinded her. That was gold. Three bags of pure gold and jewels just like that, put next to her door. Who the hell would do that ?!

She looked around to see if there was any message left for her and ended up finding a small paper nearby that must've gotten out of the bags due to wind. 

"You forgot your treasure, idiot. There was no point in going to that place if you didn't keep the treasure. Now go buy yourself some Rye or whatever."

Rye felt her heart break once more.


	2. Chapter 2

Life sucked, chili pepper thought. Of all people she could've robbed it had to be THIS GIRL. Damn she was angry. Damn she was violent. She could've killed her with her damn guns ! One more shot and Chili could've passed to the other side in seconds ! Thankfully that bridge saved her. Her heart was still beating thinking about what could've happened if she hadn't jumped in time ... And if Rye hadn't jumped either. 

Yeah. It was stupid. That girl almost killed her. But ... Chili weirdly cared about her. They got along just for a small period of time yet it was one of the best moments of Chili's life. And kind of hoped that it could've lasted a little longer. Welp, it was probably better if the two of them stopped seeing each other, the spicy cookie thought that her life was worth living and trying to reason with that girl seemed almost impossible. 

Why was she so angry about that Wheat anyways ? It was just a bunch of Golden plants that Chili couldn't even sell for much because no one wanted to spend money on that stuff. It bothered Chili ... She simply didn't understand why Rye couldn't listen to her and at least try to come back to reason. They got a whole lot of money from that hunt ! They could've bought so much Wheat with that but noooo, she had to attack her just because of some petty vengeance. And the worst ? She didn't even take her part of the treasure ! She just got stuck at the other side of that damn bridge and didn't even get to earn anything from it ! What a waste ... She really was someone stupid. 

At least, that's what Chili kept repeating to herself to convince her small brain that it was what she thought. 

To say the truth, Chili cared way too much about Rye at this moment. Her mind was completely filled with her image and a desire to see her again. It was a stupidly dangerous wish but it pained her. That team ... It was really something else. She really had a great time with Rye. She never met someone like that before and it was pretty obvious that she would never see anyone like that ever again. And to think that the only person that felt right to hang out with would hate her ? It sucked. 

Chili sighed as she laid down on the floor next to her pile of treasures. This cave sure was uncomfortable, but she couldn't risk going back to the Pilgrim village with the gun lady around. Gosh, EVERYTHING had to be about her. No matter how much time she spent trying to think about her treasure and how rich she was now she just didn't feel right. It was her fault. Damn bounty hunter. It's not like she could give her back the Rye now. Or maybe ..?

She turned around and stared at her treasure. It was pretty much everything she had for herself right now, after all she had quite a lot of trouble to find other bounties for the last few weeks. But ... Maybe that would get her brain to stop messing around ? That would be great. Still, how ironic. The great Chili pepper, the heartless thief, the one and only crimson criminal, getting regrets over someone that was against her. What a joke. 

She looked at the gold-filled bags and sighed. She knew exactly what she had to do to be able to sleep peacefully this night. And it wasn't fun. But probably worth it. She approached one of the bags and took a handful of coins that she put in her pocket. The rest would be going in Rye's hands. She took a pen and a random piece of paper to write a message for the gun user. Wait, no ... That wasn't just a random piece of paper. She turned it around and saw her face. It was the wanted paper that Rye gave her earlier. She felt tears in her eyes but quickly made them disappear by quickly whipping them with her sleeve and started writing. When she was finally satisfied with the message, she turned around, grabbed the gold-filled bags and got out of the cave. 

Most people thought that there was no other way for them than the bridge to get to the village, but she knew full well that there was another way. It was just hidden for most people not to see it immediately, but had noticed it when she first came to rob the gingkos. 

It took her quite a while to get to the village. She finally arrived to a random store selling potions with a smiling man warmly welcoming her. She didn't have time for that and it was getting late. 

"How can I help you miss-"

She slammed the door and groaned.

"Alright I'm gonna be quick with you. I need to know where does Rye cookie sleep in this town."

"H-huh ?"

"DO YOU KNOW WHERE SHE SLEEPS OR NOT."

"Y-yes ma'am ! She sleeps at the abandoned hotel near the old fountain ! Please don't hurt me ..."

"'kay. Bye, thanks."

She slammed the door behind her and rushed towards the place she was indicated to go to. She finally put down the heavy bags next to the door and put the paper on top of everything. She did it. No remorse or anything from now on. God ... It felt weird to do something for others. But it didn't feel wrong. 

Chili decided that staying here wouldn't be the best thing to do. She had no idea of how Rye would react if she saw her. She might not even accept the money as an excuse, and still go for her head. And Chili was not risking that. She left the place with a heavy heart but knowing that she probably took the best decision. Leaving Rye with something else and finally liberating herself from the guilt she felt. 

She roamed back to her cave with her head still filled with questions and a desire to see Rye. Now was not the time !! She knew full well that Rye hated her. That was a stupid idea. She had to stop thinking about that. 

Yet she was so focused on it that she didn't even notice the shadows behind her


	3. Chapter 3

Rye stretched in her bed and let out a loud yam like she liked to do every morning. The sun slowly heated the room up as it rose and Rye had to wake up once and for all. She rubbed her eyes and looked around only to notice the bags next to her bed. So it really wasn't a dream huh ? Chili pepper really gave her the whole treasure. Now that really was something she didn't expected ... How was she even supposed to react to that ?

Opening one of the golden bags made her feel weird. That was so much gold ... And it looked like chili barely kept anything for herself. With that, Rye could definitely buy herself thousands and thousands of pounds of fresh wheat for herself. Chili not only gave her back what she owned her but gave her even more money just like that. Was this a trap ? This looked like a trap. No ... If Chili pepper wanted something in return she would've asked rye to meet her somewhere to then give her the money under a condition and all ... If she really wanted something from Rye she wouldn't have just left it for her to get. 

But what was her goal with that ? Chili probably wanted to be left alone. Rye probably scared her for life with what happened the day before. She only gave her back what she was supposed to. With that Chili probably hoped that Rye would calm down and stop pursuing her for a vengeance she already got resolved. That was a good strategy indeed. Rye certainly wouldn't think of going back to hunt her now, she had no reason to. And honestly even if she still had reasons to she wouldn't have the heart to try to hurt her again, but that was a whole other subject. 

Rye grabbed the paper she took yesterday to see the message on it again. 

"You forgot your treasure, idiot. There was no point in going to that place if you didn't keep the treasure. Now go buy yourself some Rye or whatever."

She bit her lip. She started to feel her mind flooded by the idea of chili being by her side again. That way of talking felt stupidly good to her. She loved it. 

And what if ... Chili pepper send her all of that money just to be sure to be safe in the future ? Well it was probably for that too but ... Just half of the reward would've been enough if it was the case. What if Chili pepper wanted to make peace ? To say sorry ? Rye shook her head. No, she was probably too hopeful. But ... If there was a chance that it might be the case, wouldn't it be worth it to at least check ? Nothing could go wrong. She was the one that was supposed to be aggresive, not Chili. If that girl just wanted to be left alone she would probably say it quickly. And if she didn't ... Then maybe talking a little would be good. Yeah, it could work !! They could work this out together and start something new and actually good ! Maybe bounty hunting together ? Oh that would be so great ! 

Rye smiled to herself as she loaded her guns for the day. That was going to be so good !! Nothing could stop her. She just had to find Chili and that was it ! She was so glad that she finally had a reason to forgive her now. What could go wrong ?

When Chili pepper first opened her eyes, she only felt pain. Her head was hurting her like it never did, she almost wanted to break her skull to make it stop. After a while she finally got a state that was just a little better, enough for her to realise where was she. Her head was against the ground where she had drooled a little earlier. She coughed up a little feeling sand in her lungs and clearly not appreciating the feeling. She tried to get up to understand what could be going on but she felt something that stopped her from getting up. Now that she thought about it ... Her wrists and ankles felt weirdly cold. She tried to lift her head a little only to realize in horror that her arms and legs were chained up together with cuffs. 

"What the fuck is that ?"

She kept trying to get up but her headache hurt her too much to move properly. The pain was atrocious and the fact that she couldn't get in a comfortable position to get better made her panick even more.

She heard footsteps behind her accompanied with giggles and immediately knew that something bad must've happened. Did she get captured by a bounty hunter ? Oh no ... That was probably Rye wasn't it. She shouldn't have made the mistake of wanting to trust her, but she already felt her heart sink thinking about that girl capturing her without any remorse despite the fact that Chili gave her the treasure back. The footsteps got closer until she felt a hand against her chin and a two yellow eyes staring at her. 

"So Chili Pepper, you thought you could steal our treasure and just vanish like that ? Too bad your little friend isn't here to help you anymore. You should've been more careful. But it's too late now."

"Tch. You ? You guys are too late. Rye got that treasure now. I left it next to her house last night, and she probably took it far from here now."

That was half of a bluff. She said the truth about where she put the treasure, but didn't know where Rye was right now. 

"You bastard !"

She received a kick in the guts and yelped in pain. The headache only got worse, so bad that she couldn't even think straight anymore. She could barely hear what the creature next to her was saying, dozing off already. 

"Well too bad for you, your head is pretty much what our treasure was worth. We're gonna gently wait until the paper for your head gets put back on the city and we'll be selling you for good. Until then ... We're gonna have fun"

She closed her eyes and fell back into a deep sleep, unable to stay awake any longer.


	4. Chapter 4

Rye came back to the hall where she found the wanted posters and looked around for someone to get infos from. She ended up finding a random seller that she grabbed by the shoulders and pointed a gun towards. The man shivered yet tried to stay calm grinning nervously as he waited for her to speak up.

"Y-yes ?"

"You. Have you seen that spicy cookie roaming around last night or not ?"

"No ...?"

"Are you sure about that ?!"

"Y-yes miss ! I'm sure of it !"

"Tch ... There must be someone who saw her."

"You're still looking for her ..? I thought she went hiding near the ginkgoblins's base waiting for you to leave the town ..."

The man gasped and put his hand on his mouth, probably realising that he wasn't supposed to reveal this information. 

"So she is still around ... That you midget, I'll make sure to remember what ya did for me."

"Thanks ..?"

Rye was about to get back towards the canyon but remembered a small problem. There was no bridge left and she couldn't just jump over that hole hoping that she'll make it. No ... She had to find something to get to the other side. 

"Hey, do you have any grappling hook in stock maybe ?"

"2000 diamonds !"

"... Alright. You're lucky I'm in a good mood today."

Arriving towards the cliff, Rye's thoughts started to storm out in her mind. The broken bridge's remains were still hanging desperately on the sides, trying its best not to fall completely into the abyss. This bridge was broken by her fault. Just like her relationship with Chili. It could've keep going for years and stay strong for longer if she didn't attack. It really was all her mistake. But she would fix it ! She couldn't just leave Chili behind. Now the right thing to do was ... Talk maybe ? It seemed like a reasonable thing to do. Another battle would just be scary for Chili. And trying to get physical would probably freak her out too. Rye wasn't the best with kind words ... She learned to be more intimidating than anything else. But she had to try. What could she even say to her thought ? "I'm sorry I tried to kill you, but now that you've given me money I can spare your life ?" It felt like Chili Pepper's life to her eyes was only worth a pile of coins. No, it couldn't just be that. She cared about her. And she was just scared that she couldn't abandon a goal that drove her life for several months just because she appreciated her presence. But she could ! She just had to allow herself to be happy. It couldn't be that difficult. A bit tricky, yes. But the only thing that stopped her was her brain, and if that brain was stupid enough to shoot someone she truly appreciated just because of an old grudge, then it might be stupid enough to let herself be happy. 

Rye looked at the cliff once again, then went back to the grappling hook she had in hand. If she missed ... No, it was better not to think about it. Yup, just straight up jump into the unknown and with a little chance she'll get to the other side in one piece. The only person she could blame for the lack of bridge was herself after all. 

So she took the object in hand, rapidly calculated the distance and how she could shoot in a place that wouldn't break, shot and jumped. She closed her eyes, bracing herself for something bad happening. It probably wasn't the best idea. Because when she got on the other side of the cliff, the fact that she didn't see anything only made her impact with the floor more difficult. Thankfully, it only resulted in a few bruises. She cursed herself for not opening her eyes in time but didn't spend much time on it. She was on the right side now, ready to catch- no, find Chili Pepper, and she would have to be quick. That little red head could go fast. She knew, because she spent several months to find her. 

So she started roaming around the area desperately trying to find her around, hoping she wouldn't be too far away. Thankfully the desert wasn't flat and high up rocks were all over the place. Climbing up high to check around for anything red was much easier than she thought, but yet she still found nothing. Not a single red dot was in the horizon, and the sun seemed to already be going down. Rye felt horrible. After all of these hours checking her surroundings, all of that was for nothing. Oh, well ... Maybe she had one last place to check ! It would be tricky to get there without being caught but it might provide more informations than anyone else : the ginkgoblins's hideout. 

She tried her best to remember where the base was and sneaked around to see if she could listen to conversations about the lady. She would obviously be one of their biggest problem at the moment since she was the one who stole their treasure ... Not the one who actually had it at the moment, but they probably weren't supposed to know that. 

Sneaking around the base wasn't that difficult. There were no guards, no one to protect the place ... Clearly they weren't organised bandits. More like little opportunists that started robbing people after some weakness were shown in nearby villages. At least they were intelligent enough to work as a band. 

Suddenly, grunts. Lots of them. Rye had to act, quickly. She hid under a nearby empty barrel and tried to take a look at what could be going thanks to one of the holes in the wood. 

"So ? Anything you found ?"

"No, Boss ... Not a single more coin around. It's like it all vanished !"

"Tch... How could 70 grunts be less effective than a pig ?! Look more ! A treasure of that size can't just disappear. I won't accept you coming back empty handed just because she hid it well."

"Boss ... Maybe she really told the truth ? It would be the logical thing to think !"

"Don't let yourselves be fooled by her words ! She's a trickster, just like us. We have to think of her as such. She doesn't want to speak simply because she thinks she has nothing else to loose. It's just a question of time now."

Between the greenish bodies next to the leader, a red silhouette could be seen. Rye tried to get a better view of it but with her situation, it was hard to just move around to get closer. Yet she didn't have to wait long for the body to be yanked closer to the boss which started grinning victoriously. 

"So. You still don't want to speak, huh ? You're a tough one. I'll give you that."

Rye couldn't believe her eyes, and clearly wanted to close them to avoid the vision she was given. That was undoubtedly Chili before her eyes, or at least a shell of her spirit. 

The bloody deep wound on her face was probably the worst thing to see, and what shocked Rye before anything else. It was obviously inflicted by a rather large and sharp object, but was too messy for it to be a knife or any sort of simple thin blade. It seemed to be caused by either a sword or a machete. The wound crossed her entire face, starting by the end of the chin, going over her nose and right eye and finally ending on the upper part of her skull, having removed a significant portion of her hair. She seemed to be struggling to breathe but it looked like it was a consequence of her general state of being. She looked incredibly tired and could barely stand up. The heavy chains on her feet and hands clearly didn't help it either. And her eyes were so ... Empty. She wasn't herself. She couldn't be. She wasn't even scared, she was just ... Somewhere else. 

"Nothing else to say I guess ? Thought so. Go take care of her. Maybe she will speak if she's lured with food. You can try to torture her, but don't use anything that could end her ! She lost enough blood like that. We don't want her to stop breathing before she reveals anything interesting."

That day, Rye finally understood what fearing for one's life truly meant.


	5. Chapter 5

To say that Rye was lost woulf be an understatement. She was completely and utterly destroyed, unable to process the numerous thoughts that went through her head. Chili was in a dangerously bad state and Rye couldn't think of anything she could do that might help. She couldn't just jump into a battle hoping that things would go well like a fairy tale where everyone ends up happy in a matter of seconds. Yet, the situation had to be resolved quickly. Just standing there wouldn't help anything. 

And the fact that Rye just had to stay there and witness this sinister scene without being able to get a single word out of her mouth. She couldn't even afford to cry, because the noises it might make would get her in danger. She could just ... Watch. 

And as the mangled body was dragged away from the scene and everyone left the place, she got out of her hiding place and ... Let everything out at once. She cried all of the tears she could, coughing up because she chocked on her saliva more than once. It was ugly and she probably looked like a mess but this probably wasn't the moment to care about something like that. Every now and then she would try to get back up and see what she could do, but she would just break down immediately and go back to tears in seconds. It took her quite a long time to get back to her senses and truly understand what she had just lived through. She really thought she could handle violence and horrors. But she never actually saw someone she cared about being that hurt. She felt even sicker thinking that she could've hurt her just as bad with her guns the day before if Chili was just a little less agile. She could've hurt someone like that and she truly believed that she could just not care about something like that. She was a fool. 

After finally getting back up for good she tried to use what was still functioning in her brain to see what she could and couldn't do. First of all, she knew that she couldn't just attack the place randomly all by herself and expect to win. And none of the villagers could help even if there was a possible reward, because if they were powerful enough to do such thing they would've attacked them sooner. Chili was simply out of the question. She would very obviously pass out if she did even the slightest effort. So Rye was all on her own. And that left only one solution : she had to infiltrate the place, take Chili out and somehow get back to the village without being noticed. That was probably the most stupid and unrealistic plan she ever had. Chili was a prisoner that was highly valued by the ginkgoblins, so she must've been put in a place where she could be watched at all times. And what about walking ? She would have to carry Chili around if she wanted her to keep her forces and survive. How could she get all the way to the village without being caught ?! This was just impossible, it couldn't be done ...

But Rye just had to try. She wouldn't forgive herself if she didn't. 

The cell was cold and humid and with time passing by, Chili felt like she would probably end up getting sick from it. Well, that was if she would survive long enough for her injuries to be infected. She was ... Not really desperate. She wasn't even fighting for her life anymore at this point. She knew that the reward for her head was dead or alive, and with her refusing to say a single thing about the treasure she stole, she probably wouldn't be spared for much longer. She had just ... Accepted her fate. It scared her, so much that she desperately tried not to overthink it yet her mind kept wandering back to it. She knew that her life as a criminal wouldn't end in a peaceful way. But this wasn't what she planned. She always thought that the idea of her own death wouldn't be that scary. It just happens one day, especially when you're living a life like this. But the torture was getting worse and worse and nothing was healing. The pain made her mad and she had no idea how long would this last. Her worst fear was imagining how painful this could get at the end of everything. 

She slowly raised her hand and ran her fingers on the bloody scar that hurt her so much. She tried not to get them to touch the raw skin but rather the borders of it. Her face must've looked horrible. She wondered if she could see how does it look one day. She never planned to be a seducer nor someone who tried actively to get a lover, so she didn't care much. Plus, her face was already scared once in the past. But it felt strange to know you were hurt but never actually seeing it. The vision of the eye that got hurt was pretty bad now. It was mainly just blurry colours. She hoped that one day she could get her vision back, but she didn't have many hopes. Still, she kept it closed just to let it rest, in case that it might help. 

Her mind wandered back to Rye. Technically, it was because if her that she was in this mess. But ... She didn't regret it. Rye was weirdly dear to her. And the idea of ending her life so that she could live hers fully wasn't that bad in her eyes. Well of course she wasn't gladly sacrificing herself for the glory of Rye and giving everything to her like someone would make offerings to a spirit. But Chili was petty and refused to say where she hid the treasure and if someone could get it, well ... It would be nice. 

She sighed. She missed Rye. She wished she could at least get her reaction to the gold. She looked up at the little window over her cell that was carved into the rock. It was barely big enough to let some light get through. To say that she was surprised to see something getting through it and fall on the ground of her cell was an understatement. At first, she thought the little white thing was a feather. There's a lot of cream eagles around, and even if it was a little cliché it would make sense. But looking at it ... She noticed that it was actually a piece of paper. She walked towards it and quickly snatched it. A few words were written on it. Simple yet precise. 

"Don't die. I'm here." 

Chili grinned and shoved the paper into her mouth before swallowing it to not leave evidence behind. Maybe trying to survive a little longer was a good idea.


	6. Chapter 6

Once again, Chili was thrown back in her cell as a bloody mess. Chili didn't even recall everything that happened during the time she was out, her memory erasing the worst to keep her sane. These damn ginkgoblins ... They really knew what they were doing. 

Chili was exhausted. She couldn't even get up anymore. She kept seeing lights around and everything felt rather fuzzy despite the fact that she was deeply wounded. It was pretty obvious that she would pass out soon. She didn't try to fight it, she just closed her eyes with a sigh and hoped that she would at least get some rest. They didn't really allow her sleep for the last two days and she was hoping that this could be an occasion to let her poor body heal a little. 

When she woke up, it felt like not much time had passed but her body was a lot less numb. She had no idea how long had she been here. A minute ? Perhaps several hours ? It's not like she cared much at this point. As long as she was alive, everything would be good. 

Her mind wandered back to that little paper she found earlier this day. She had almost accepted her death at this point, yet it was asking her to survive. She didn't know if her efforts would be rewarded but she wouldn't give up. If someone could help her she was certainly not going to be against them. She wondered who could it be ... Maybe she shouldn't have ate this paper that fast. She couldn't remember how the handwriting looked at all now. Maybe it was her brother ? He was stupid, way too careful and he disliked her behavior but ... If he found her like that, he would probably try to save her. Thought the idea of a man doing martial arts against guns wasn't something she thought would be effective. Her sibling was far from this place thought ... But who else could it be ? She never really had allies in the past. But this paper ... It couldn't be just a joke, someone would come for her, right ? Or else, she would ...

Chili sighed as she tried to get back on her feet. Now she could clearly feel what they did to her and it wasn't the most pleasing sensation. She walked towards the wall and got her back against it to sit properly as she wandered in her thoughts once again. She felt her head getting heavier but she tried to stay up this time. Letting herself pass out like that was a bad idea. She didn't know if she would be able to wake up afterwards. Better just sit and wait. 

And wait. 

A loooong time 

...

Maybe that paper was just a prank afterall. One grunt who found it funny to give her a little more hope just before she inevitably dies. What an asshole. 

She actually felt a little sad now. Or at least that's what she accepted to admit to herself. She felt more and more tears rolling down her cheeks, some of them touching the opened injuries she had, hurting herself even more. She ... Wanted to live. She wanted to see another day and think about things that would happen on the next morning. Maybe see her brother again ? She missed him. Yes he was annoying and kept telling her about things she didn't care about. But she loved him and she had no idea if she ever told him that before. The thought of it hurt. What would he think after seeing that she never even came back to say one last goodbye ? Would he even react ? Would the other cookies of the martial dojo even remember her ? She felt lost, so lost ... 

But there was one cookie she hoped would remember her. Rye. She wished she could see her happy now. She really wanted that money and ... She probably deserved it. Chili kept telling herself that this was just plain stupid, she barely met her, yada yada ... But after spending so little time with her she actually started to believe that live at first sight might be real. Even with her life ending she only had this stupidly pretty golden lady in her head. 

Suddenly, a violent pain in her knee. Something that came out of nowhere but completely made sense with her body barely able to function. She yelped in pain and hugged it before slamming her whole body on the ground because she couldn't hold it up anymore. She felt like she was going mad drooling on the pavement as she slowly felt her brain getting foggier and foggier. She couldn't even see anymore. Curse this place. Curse her body. Curse ... Whatever. Pain. That was everything she had in mind. 

Suddenly, yelling in the corridors. She closed her eyes and tried to put her arms on her head to protect it. That was it. They were coming for her. She was so scared... She began to cough up on her tears and felt like nothing was good anymore. She could barely see, heard sounds as a messy soup of random noises that she could barely distinguish from one another and wasn't able to move. The yellings were getting louder and some other sounds were heard. She didn't have the capacity to see what were those. She just wanted everything to end. 

The last thing she saw was a golden shine behind the bars, as the smell of even more blood started to fill her nose and everything turned black.


	7. Chapter 7

Comfortable. That's the first thought she had when she started to wander back to consciousness. She didn't know where she was nor why would she be here but she know it was a pleasing feeling. She was sleeping on... A bed maybe ? No, she never slept on beds. She never had one ever since she left the dojo. But ... It really felt like one. Heavy sheets covering her body to help her sleep in a pleasing warmth, a pillow for her head rest to against something else than the ground ... No, she was definitely in a bed. She tried to open her eyes but the light only came in one of them. It was blinding, it looked like she didn't open them in quite a long time. She let out a moan as she closes them back and she tries to turn around in the bed. She clearly didn't expect every single one of her muscles to hurt. She gasped and hissed as she tried to get back to a more comfortable position with a little tear rolling down her cheek. 

"So. You're finally up huh."

Chili pepper groaned and opened her eyes back up to see a blurry red and gold figure next to her. She tried to very careful move her arm to rub the only eye she could see with and finally the vision got a little better. A girl. A pretty one, that is. Did she know her ? It hurt to think about it. Her head seemed so far from whatever she knew about this lady, yet it seemed so important ...

"I heard you from my room, you're pretty loud. I'm assuming that you're not in the best shape... Do you want painkillers ?"

No time for questions. Painkillers first. The first thing she wanted was to forget that her whole body was on fire. She slowly nodded and waited for the lady to come back with a glass of water and a few pills. Chili tried her best to grab both and careful swallowed them, almost chocking on the water in the process. She tried to rub her other eye to see what was going on with it and ... It was completely covered in bandages. Touching it wasn't really a good idea. She didn't expect   
Everything to be so painful but this ? This was the worst 

"Yeah ... About that eye... We did everything we could. I found a healer that is pretty good at his job but he's really not sure if you're going to be able to use it anymore. They really went wild on this one."

Chili felt a bit nauseous. She didn't expect to loose an eye. How could she loose an eye ?! What happened that she couldn't remember ..? And that girl... For the love of swan, who was she ?! 

"Listen, Chili, I ... Have a few things to say to you."

The blond girl slowly approached Chili and gently wrapped her arms around her body. It felt ... Weirdly reassuring. Even for someone that she couldn't remember. 

"I'm sorry. I really am. All of this, it's my fault. And ... I know that well. I thought you did something bad to me but I caused you so much worse ... I understand if you don't want to be around me anymore."

Chili still didn't remember her. But one thing she knew is that she clearly didn't want her to leave. She liked that person. She liked that hug. She hoped ... This could last a little longer. 

"I don't know what to do to make myself forgiven. Or at least for you to be alright after what happened. I just ... I really don't know what to say. But I want you to know that I'm sorry. And if you want me to leave ... I'll do it. I'll leave you with everything you gave me so that you can have a happy life and everything you need."

Suddenly, the memories slowly began to re-emerge. The ginkgoblin's hideout. The powerful friendship that was created in just few minutes. The realisation of what happened. The fight. And finally ... Why her body was in that shape. She felt her grip on Rye slowly get tighter as she sobbed. Rye saved her life. She was the only reason why she was still alive at this point. And with that, Chili remembered her one wish. Something she truly hoped for. 

"Please. Don't leave me ever again."

Chili felt more and more tears dripping down her chin as she hugged Rye closer. The one thing she couldn't bare anymore was loneliness. It's been so long ever since she had someone to take care of her. She couldn't handle the thought of being left alone a second time. 

"... Chili ?"

"I don't want you to leave me !! Please ... Just stay. I can't do this alone. Not anymore. I'm sorry for everything I did. I don't care what you did or didn't cause. I just know that I need someone by my side, someone that I know I can trust and love. I need you Rye. Please ... Don't leave me again. I won't be able to handle it. "

"A-are you sure ? It's ... My fault if you're like this."

Chili sighed with a grin, grabbed Rye's cheeks and landed a kiss on her lips. It wasn't something that lasted very long not something extremely passionate like you would see on movies, but her intentions were very clear.

"Woops, looks like I stole something else from you. Oh no ... I think you're gonna have to keep me around from now, since I'm a dirty criminal ~"

Rye stared at the red lady and let out a chuckle before kissing her again. 

"Trust me, you won't win at that game."

"We'll see."


End file.
